Cheating Death
by Iamsecretlynot
Summary: Do you know what it is like to feel death breathing down your neck? Rex does... or how many times Rex has escaped death. Young! Rex. Various Clones and Jedi appearances
1. BEGIN

He never planned on taunting death. He never planned on surviving to the next day. It just….. happened.

Day 26 of living. The Kaminos discovered an error in batch 200. The error would cause the clones to be overprotective and loyal, to a point that it would override any chip or biological code. So they destroyed the batch. They could always start again.

Somehow, they missed one. One case was mislabeled and sent to batch 100 just an hour before the discovery.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .

He was known as the runt. Others taunted him, predicting that his fate would be like ninety-nine's. You'll be broken before you ever step foot on the training center.

"Dog, dog!" They chanted. "Rex, Rex!"

He couldn't remember how many times he was shoved against the wall. Or how many times a blaster would fire and barely miss him. Or how many times they would go for his throat during sparring.

He only remembered how to survive. Head down, slip past them. Eat fast, watch your back. He cleaned the training blasters, made sure to lock them to stun. He watched every fight, watched their moves, and outsmarted them.

On his first life day he chose a name. The others whispered their names under their breaths, reveling in being more than a number. He used to lay awake, hearing them murmur to each other.

Each batch had about a 100 clones in it. This evenly divided up into 5 men in each squad. Those men would grow, learn, fight, and die together. They were _vod._

Sometimes he wondered why he had to be the 101 clone. The odd one out. The runt. The dog.

So, listening to the boys murmur around him, he chose his name.

"Rex, rex." He whispered to no one. _Dog, dog._ He held back hot tears. A Mandalorian does not cry. The boys above him, calling themselves "Kicker" and "Bomb" do not cry. He rolled over and began to recite mando'a in his head.

When he turned two, Rex had cheated death 25 times.

* * *

*Clears throat

Um, so this is kinda angst? It's going to get happier?

I know that Rex is respected and stuff in the GAR, so I kinda wanted to play with his back story and see How much I can break him what I can do! I am excited.

I was inspired by 'the book thief,' which may or not be one of my favourite books.


	2. Meeting

He was two when he fought back.

In the arena, getting smacked to the ground. Out of the arena, slapped by the trainer. Come on, CT-7567! Come on, Dog! Words screamed. Punches thrown. It all flew above his head.

Sometimes, he wondered if he should fight back. Show them that he knew all of their moves, could counter them all, could send them flying to the ground.

Instead he took the beating, learned their moves by heart. Later he would practice, go through the counter moves.

He didn't know why the trainers made him fight groups of clones larger than him. Perhaps they thought he made a good punching bag. Toda,y Rex was pitted against Red squad, consisting of Bomb, Tracker, Kicker and Blast; clones older, stronger, and bigger than him.

They laughed when he entered the ring. "Look who decided to join the party." Blast sneered.

Rex squinted at him. Blast led red squad by brawn alone. He favoured his fists and his attacks were limited. Behind them he saw clones gathering to watch, the trainers passive faces. He noticed purple armor, a batch of older clones taking notes. _Rumble_ squad.

They were clones marked for leadership. Clutch and Max were in intense Arc trooper training. Duncan and Harb, on track to command battalions. And Loner. Rumors whispered that he was training for a secret post on the outer rim. They were the best in the GAR. He wondered what they were doing at a ring match.

"Eey, Rumble!" Tracker called out. "Where's Loner?" Red Squad and Rumble Squad were from batch 50. Another point against Rex's chances of coming out of this alive.

Rex frowned scanning the group. Only four. Where was Loner? Rumble Squad ignored Tracker, talking quietly among themselves.

The bell rang and Blast lunged forward, his fist connecting with Rex's jaw. He dropped down, doubled over. He heard Blast laugh.

"Is that your best shot, Dog?" Blast spat. Bomb came forward, towering over him.

A rush of adrenaline shot through Rex's veins. No more. No more taking their abuse. He would show them who really was a dog-

Rex slammed his fist in Bomb's gut, knocked him out with a headbut. Then he charged at Kicker, using Bomb as a shield and battering-ram. They both went down, arms failing.

He spun around and planted his foot into a groin, finishing it off a uppercut. A arm went around his neck and he slammed his elbow into their chest, twisting out of their grip. He wrapped his arms around Blast's neck, cutting off his air supply. Looking around, Rex realized that Blast was the only one still standing.

"King." The boy gasped, hands clutching at his neck.

Rex scowled. "Excuse me?" He tightened his grip, pushing Blast's body down to the mat.

"King, I yield!" His voice echoed in the small room.

Rex saw the trainers rushing up behind him. He heard Red squads fear screaming at him, the clones cowering against the rail. He saw the older clones, their purple helmets watching him. One shook its head.

His gut clenched. He messed up. Again.

He released the boy and backed away. He stayed silent when the trainers knocked him to his knees.

He didn't complain when they transferred him to a new squad. They had recently lost a squadmate and needed another. He would fill the place in the trainers minds, but Rex knew that he would never would in the clones minds. They wouldn't need a dog trailing their footsteps.

He entered the cubicle and placed his stuff on the table. It was currently empty with 6 lockers lining the small space. He found his and placed his gear inside. Then he began to clean his blaster, knowing that his new squadmates would return soon. He didn't have long to wait. Just as he sat down, a voice broke through the air.

"Are you the one they call King?"

He kept his eyes fixed on his blaster. "My name is Rex."

A hand gripped his shoulder. He tensed, feeling the clone's hot breath on his neck. "You took down Blast."

"So?" He schooled his face, thankful for helmets. He felt others closing in around them.

"So, we've been trying to take down Blast for months." Another clone said. His helmet was purple, with a single strip of white smeared across the top. Rex stiffened. His new squad was rumble squad? He recognized the purple-strip as Max. Harb was behind him, his helmet solid purple. Clutch stood to the left, white x's lining his helmet. Duncan was on Max's right, directly in front of Rex. His helmet was clipped to his belt and a pair of stern brown eyes accost Rex's face.

Rex frowned and shook off Harb's arm. "What happened to Loner?"

"Loner isn't coming back." Clutch folded his arms. "We needed another squad member. Omega let us pick."

Rex swallowed. They picked him? "Why me?"

The Rumble squad exchanged glances. Max cleared his throat. "Do you know what your name means?" He asked.

Rex's eyes darkened. " _Dog_." He spat.

Max's eyes softened. "Rex means 'King' or 'The Reigning King'."

Ah. They thought he was cocky. He clenched his blaster, turning it over in his hands.

Clutch coughed. "After what happened to-well, we need a little hope. We felt you would be a good fit."

"Besides, Duncan had a good feeling about you." Harb put in. Rex shifted from side to side. Duncan hadn't said a single word during this interview.

"Training starts tomorrow kid. Get some sleep."

When he turned three, Rex had officially cheated death 30 times.

* * *

Cody, Gree, Wolfee, Bly and Fox will be making their appearances soon. The rest of the 501st are younger than Rex, so they come into the story way later.

I hope you enjoyed this! :)


End file.
